"The rest of 'em will catch up with us," he said of the league's other eight teams. "It won't take 'em long, either."

Bowden turned out to be wrong on both counts.

It took until 2005 before the Seminoles really had to sweat their conference schedule. But of more importance, entering the 2008 season, it's clear now that the ACC never actually caught up to Florida State. It went the other way. Florida State caught up with the rest of the ACC -- caught up to the extent that 5-3 is now seen as a successful league record, and the legendary Bowden has to worry almost as much about beating Wake Forest and N.C. State as Florida.

As Bowden embarks on his 31st season in Tallahassee, there's no longer a fear factor associated with the Seminoles. Talk to opposing players about intimidating foes, and you're more likely to hear remarks about Virginia Tech, Wake Forest and Clemson than FSU.

"The [league] culture has changed, I think," Florida State senior quarterback Drew Weatherford said. "If it has, it's up to the guys on our team this season to change it back. We've got to take back what we had."

Bowden has more of a stake in that recovery process than anyone. A big part of his legacy hangs in the balance. It's a complex equation, too. When the school announced that offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher would be Bowden's successor upon his retirement, the Seminoles suddenly became a team with two head coaches -- one for now, the other for later.

Bowden's professional epitaph, to a large extent, will be determined by how quickly and effectively Fisher can devise an offensive recovery from the teams that have gone 12-12 in the ACC over the past three seasons and last had serious national championship hopes in the 2000 season.

There's no question that Bowden is still the face of Florida State football, but Fisher quickly has become the brains behind the operation and certainly the crown prince of the coaching staff.

By the time Bowden turns 79 on Nov. 8 (when Clemson visits), who's to say Bowden will not be in his last coaching days? A losing season, he kidded Monday while meeting with the ACC media, might leave him with few options.

"I don't think I'd have to say [anything about quitting]," he said. "I think it would be a unanimous vote by the athletics council."

With a pair of opening games against Western Carolina and Tennessee-Chattanooga, there's little chance that the Noles will enter November in a dire state. But from there, the schedule that once resembled a holiday shopping list now looks imposing -- Wake Forest, Colorado, Miami, N.C. State, Virginia Tech, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Boston College, Maryland and, of course, Florida.

"I'm worried, but heck, I'm always worried," Bowden said. "You look at our schedule and those first two games -- look at what Appalachian State did to Michigan last season -- and I can't guarantee anybody anything. I sure can't guarantee [FSU fans] 2-0. I wish I could, but I can't."

Bowden is convinced that the Seminoles are simply trapped in a down cycle.

"We'll get back up there," he said. "Miami will get back up there, too. But I'm not kidding myself. I know it's not going to be easy for us. I want it to happen fast, but I know it may not."

Either way, Bowden hopes he's in for the long run.

"I'm still the head football coach," he said. "But I know we've got to win more than we're winning now. I'm not interested in getting out, though. I plan on getting this thing back to where it oughta be, and go on from there. Time will tell."

That, however, is the catch phrase. As great as he's been, Bowden is beginning to coach on borrowed time. The guy he's borrowing that time from is Fisher, and the road to recovery seems to be in the hands of the heir apparent. It may work, but you have to admit that it's a strange fit for what once was the best team in college football.